Marco Bezzecchi
A chaotic Grand Prix of Qatar was by far the most confusing race of the 2025 MotoGP campaign so far.
No one could have predicted that Maverick Vinales would come out of nowhere to lead the race, assisted by some unfortunate incidents for his MotoGP rivals.
Alex Marquez attempted an audacious late-braking move on Fabio Di Giannantonio shortly after losing second place.
It would nearly end in disaster for both riders as they went off the track, with the Italian rider dropping to the back of the pack. He failed to recover and take anything from the Grand Prix of Qatar.
Marquez has been told there’s only one way to beat Marc and he was pushing almost beyond his means to manage a first victory in the Lusail chaos.
Marquez is faster than Marc in right-hand corners and it could be a great advantage later in the season. However, he has just made his first big mistake of the campaign.
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Neil Hodgson blames Alex Marquez for ‘scary’ Fabio Di Giannantonio crash in Qatar
Marquez lunged from a fair way back at a high-speed part of the circuit, pushing his rival off and eventually being deemed at fault.
A long-lap penalty would see him plunge down the field, before recovering with a solid ride to seventh behind Gresini teammate Fermin Aldeguer.
“Alex Marquez has run into the side of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Hand goes up from Alex Marquez but he could well have ruined Digi’s race here,” said Gavin Emmett on TNT Sports.
“What happened then? That was bizarre. One of the fastest parts of the track [and] he looked like he came from miles back,” replied Neil Hodgson.
“Almost like he missed his braking point. I’ll have to see it again but that was a strange one. What a scary moment that was. Big collision.”
How Alex Marquez proved that he isn’t ready to compete for the MotoGP title in Qatar
Marquez’s rash move was a major dent to his hopes in 2025. He had finished second in seven consecutive races before the main race in Qatar.
After serving his penalty, he dropped as low as 12th before recovering five more positions. It was solid damage limitation.
However, he lost his head at a crucial stage in the race, when there was potentially a big result on the table.
If Vinales was able to contend for victory, Alex could have been in the same position easily. He just cost himself a better result with a lunge.
It’ll be important to bounce back at his home race in two weeks, as MotoGP returns to Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix.
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